WASHINGTON—A Capitol Hill exhibit being unveiled Oct. 28 in the Rayburn House Office Building calls on Congress to phase out the use of chimpanzees in invasive experiments and retire federally owned chimpanzees to sanctuaries. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s new multimedia exhibit draws attention to the ethical and scientific implications of chimpanzee experiments as Congress considers the Towns-Reichert-Langevin-Bartlett Great Ape Protection Act.

Event Details

WHAT: An exhibit exploring the ethical and scientific reasons for Congress to pass the Great Ape Protection Act, (H.R. 1326)

The Great Ape Protection Act exhibit will include photos of former laboratory-owned chimpanzees now living in sanctuaries and a video documenting recent chimpanzee abuse at a Louisiana primate research center. The exhibit will occupy the first floor foyer of the Rayburn House Office Building on Oct. 28 from noon to 2 p.m.

"People may be shocked to learn that laboratories are permitted to keep chimpanzees in cages about the size of a kitchen table, sometimes for decades," says PCRM primatologist Debra Durham, Ph.D. “Approximately 1,000 chimpanzees are languishing in American laboratories at taxpayer expense, even though many of these animals are not being used in active protocols. It’s time for the United States to join the long list of countries that have ended invasive experiments on these amazing animals.”

The Great Ape Protection Act would end invasive research on chimpanzees, release federally owned chimpanzees to permanent sanctuaries, and end federal funding for the breeding of federally owned chimpanzees. Many countries, including the United Kingdom and Japan, already ban experiments on chimpanzees and other great apes, yet scientific research flourishes in those nations.

As a result of their use in experiments, chimpanzees can experience early separation from their mothers, social isolation, prolonged captivity, sensory deprivation, and repeated physical harm. Recently, ABC's Nightline exposed the abuse of chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates at the New Iberia Research Center in Louisiana.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.